"Without health there is no happiness. An attention to health, then,
should take the place of every other object." (Thomas Jefferson, 1787)

The DOCTOR YOURSELF (SM) NEWSLETTER Vol 1, No 11
March 30, 2001 "Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A."
Written by Andrew Saul, PhD. of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free online
library of more than 180 natural healing articles with over 2,500 scientific
references.

THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENTS on last Newsletter's bean-boosting, cold-sore
crushing, legume and lysine article. All we are saying is give peas a
chance.

PMS / PMDD AND TWO THERAPEUTIC NUTRIENTS

Do you remember when there wasn't even a name for what we now know as PMS?
It wasn't that many years ago that doctors considered it to be all in a
lady's head. Long before that, "hysterical" women were considered to
have it all emanating from their uterus. The solution? Surgery to
remove the uterus (and with it the "hysteria"), hence the "hysterectomy."
Half a million hysterectomies are still performed annually, most of them
medically unnecessary.

Even twenty years ago, I do not recall that there was much serious
discussion about PMS. A lot of angry ladies changed that. Now TV adds
discuss PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). What's a dysphoric?
A person exhibiting dysphoria, of course. Now for the real answer:
a person with anxiety, depression and restlessness. It is derived from
the Greek word dusphoros , which (appropriately enough) means
"hard to bear."

So now I've got dysphoria to read.(That was subtle, but did you get it?
If you didn't, I'll get datphoria next Newsletter.) But seriously, folks:

B-6 dosage to the tune of 500 mg daily is very safe. Probably tens of
millions of women suffer PMS symptoms; only a very few cases of B - 6
overdose problems have been reported. Daily dosage over 2,000 mg has
occasionally caused temporary nerological symptoms in some persons. But
this only happens if pyridoxine is given alone, or way out of proportion
to the other essential B-vitamins. Taking ALL the B vitamins together
(as B-complex) is the safest and most effective therapeutic approach.
When a balance is maintained, B-vitamin toxicity is virtually nonexistent.
Is there a safe harbor? I think so. Use the entire B-complex, taken every
two to three hours. Consider adding perhaps 50mg to 100 mg of pure
pyridoxine to each dose if dysphoric symptoms are really awful.

You can get some (probably less than 5 mg) of B-6 from food, if you
really like to eat whole grains, seeds and organ meats. A goodly slice
of beef liver contains a whopping 1.22 mg of B-6. Other dead animals'
parts contain less (turkey and chicken breasts are pretty good, but
chicken liver is only 0.6 mg per serving), while most other foods
ontain very little. Avocados (0.5 mg each) and bananas (0.7 each)
lead the pyridoxine league for fruits. Potatoes (0.7 mg each) and
nuts (especially filberts, peanuts and walnuts) are relatively good
veggie sources.

The US RDA for B-6 is about 2 mg daily (and it is LOWER for women),
and this is ridiculously inadequate. A strong case can be made for
increasing this to at least 25 to 65 mg per day for people without
PMS symptoms. But don't hold your breath for any raising of standards
anytime soon. Consider that some research (the 1975 MRCA study, for
starters) has shown that of children ages 2 through 12, 74% did not
get the US RDA of B-6. That's pretty terrible, but it is worse for
adults 19 and over: 99% got less than the US RDA of B-6. Does THAT
ever explain the PMS problem in the USA!

Magnesium

(From Paul Mason http://www.mgwater.com/ This site offers
many complete papers by the world's leading magnesium experts.)

Increasing dietary magnesium often decreases menstrual cramping as
well as PMS. Calcium causes muscles to contract, while magnesium
helps them to relax. Dietary calcium gives temporary relief of
menstrual cramps. However, calcium also depletes the body of
magnesium and ensures cramping will occur in the following month
if magnesium is not replenished.

Magnesium is used by some doctors to treat mental stress. On the
periodic table, magnesium appears near lithium. Lithium is often
used to treat stress and related disorders. Magnesium is needed
to shift calcium into and out of cells. Cells require a small
amount of calcium, however too much calcium is a problem. Magnesium
serves to regulate essential cellular minerals.

If you do not suffer from kidney disease, consider taking an
oral daily dietary magnesium supplement. For generally healthy
people the only known side effect from taking too much magnesium
is diarrhea. Your body continuously discards excess magnesium
through urine and feces.

The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium (Mg)
is 350 mg (milligrams) per day for men and 280 mg/day for women.
Most researchers studying hypomagnesemia (not enough Mg) are now
convinced the RDA is insufficient to maintain an adequate amount of
biologically available Mg for all body functions. Magnesium is
necessary for normal functioning of over 300 enzymes that are
present in your body. (Enzymes are chemical substances necessary
for normal metabolism).

If you do not have enough available magnesium (magnesium
deficiency), it slowly degrades your general health in a variety
of ways. Magnesium deficiency is directly linked to heart disease.
Moreover, because of the many ways your body employs magnesium,
it plays a role in diabetes, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis,
arthritis, asthma, kidney stones, migraine, leg and menstrual
cramps, eclampsia, PMS, chronic fatigue syndrome, tetany, and
a host of other problems.

Magnesium supplements are commonly available in 100 to 250 mg
magnesium oxide (MgO) tablets or capsules. It's available without
prescription at drug and health food stores everywhere.
For women, try starting with 200 mg per day. Take the supplement
with your largest meal. After 2 weeks increase your daily dose
by a convenient increment, say, 100 or 125 mg. (Tablets are
easily snapped in half). If frequent bowel movements or gas
become a problem, reduce the amount and gradually increase again
by spreading the dose over three meals.

Pre-menopausal women do not require as much Mg as men. 2.3 to
3.0 mg per pound of body weight per day is usually sufficient
to maintain adequate magnesium in women. However, after
menopause, women should increase the dose.

(From THE ROLE OF MAGNESIUM IN THE PREVENTION OF CORONARY
DISEASE AND OTHER DISORDERS by Tom Miller tmiller@tstonramp.com
Edited and reprinted with permission.)

Also recommended:
Seelig, Mildred (1980) Magnesium Deficiency In The Pathogenesis
Of Disease. (Plenum, NY) Among the best works on this important
subject.

GALLSTONES

I thank Connie, one of my many health-wise correspondents, for
sharing this protocol that may help get rid of gallstones.
She writes: "I've gotten some very helpful and valuable info from
my sister who went through this problem a couple years ago. Here
are some Gallbladder Dietary Guidelines that I'll share, in case
you could use it to help someone else." I have edited and added
to them.

Essential Fatty Acids, found in fish, green vegetables and in the
next very important item: Lecithin granules (several spoonfuls daily)

Multiple Digestive Enzyme tablets each meal, and also with raw-veggie
snacks.

Don't be a gallstone martyr: if you need medical care, see your
doctor.

Reader's Question: "Can you talk about lactose intolerance?"

Sure can. First of all, you probably aren't, even if you've been
told you are. The majority of supposedly lactose intolerant people
are not, and can eat ice cream and small amounts of milk. (Williams,
Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 6th ed, page 146). It is my understanding
that the definitive medical test is the "breath hydrogen assay,"
which you can have your doctor arrange for you to have done. Only
about one in three people initially diagnosed lactose intolerant
will turn out to be truly so.

There are several ways to proceed here: first, just avoid milk
products completely. Many people simply fare better without any
dairy at all. Try for a couple of months and see if you are one of
them. In his books, Abram Hoffer, M.D., writes how he did exactly
this and how much better he's felt as a result: no more headaches.
Dr. Benjamin Spock (yes, THE Doctor Spock) recommended against
milk, even in growing (weaned) children. Milks contains lactose,
which is digested by the enzyme lactase. Lactase production in
humans decreases after age 5, and in other mammals not long after
birth. A good argument for vegans, perhaps. Be sure you get
enough calcium and other bone minerals from moo-less sources such
as lots of fresh vegetables.

Chinese cabbage, or bok choi, is especially high in calcium. In fact,
all "greens" are a great non-dairy source of calcium, and whole
potatoes are surprisingly good as well. The fruit with the highest
calcium content I know of is, believe it or not, the fig! Molasses
and almonds are two other ways to bone up without abusing Bossy.

If you are really hooked on the white of the cow (and I confess that
this includes me), try limiting yourself to yogurt, kefir, and aged
cheeses. These and other cultured milk products are very digestible.
Speaking as a former dairyman (I milked over one hundred head twice
a day), I will say that fluid milk is perhaps the least desirable
dairy product of all, and is also the most likely form to provoke
a reaction.

I personally speculate that lactose intolerance may be mostly the
result of a poor colon bacteria environment, from eating too much
of the wrong foods, or even too much of the right foods. More
on this as you meet Roy Walford, M.D., later in this newsletter.

DO ANTIBIOTICS WORK? Often, sure. But at what cost in side
effects, gross overprescription, and resultant encouragement of
disease-resistant "superbacteria"? There may be a time to use
an antibiotic. But that time is not right off the bat. Other,
safer modalities should be tried first, and tried correctly.
Just with aggressive use of sufficient vitamin C, the nation's
need for antibiotics would plummet.
( http://doctoryourself.com/klennerpaper.html )

"It's already possible to live to be well over 120 years if you
start young, and take the necessary (albeit exceedingly stringent)
measures. In my own laboratory at UCLA Medical Center, we have
extended the maximum life span of fish by 300 percent." This is
the voice of Roy Walford, M.D., who insists that we can live longer
than we expect -- much longer -- but it "can only be done by slowing
down our actual rate of biological aging." And he has a very specific
prescription to do it: eat less food.

So who is this guy? Hang on; he's a real scientist, and the author
of five books, one of which is The Immunologic Theory of Aging.
Dr. Walford has been on the medical faculty of UCLA for over 30 years,
and is a member of the NAS Committee on Aging. He has received
shelves full of awards, including the American Aging Association
Research Award, the Kleemeir Award of the Geriontological Society,
and the Henderson Award of the American Geriatrics Society. The
doctor is an acknowledged heavyweight in the field of aging research.

He knows a lot about nutrition and dieting, too. In this book, he
has a lot to say about various popular diets including the Atkins,
Scarsdale and Pritikin. As Dr. Walford concisely reviews decades
of research on aging, he makes it not only painless but downright
interesting to read. He has traveled all over the world, and tells
a great story (in fact, a lot of great stories), usually with
an imbedded anti-aging lesson. He has a wonderful sense of history,
and his enthusiasm and wit is everywhere evident in his writing.

Dr. Walford, while calling death the ultimate "crime against
consciousness," also tells us that "Sponges do not age. Nor do sea
anemones." Not a lot of consciousness there, admittedly. He has
tripled the lifespan of fish (who cares?) and greatly extended the
lifespan of mice, rats and some assorted microscopic critters
(again, who cares?). Well, I do, for one. I at least want to
know how he did it. I do have an aquarium full of moderately rare
fish.

So here is the plan: you keep the animals hungry. Dr Walford's
research found that systematic underfeeding leads to longer lives
in pets. And, he submits, it will do the same for people. He
calls it "intermittent fasting." You eat every other day, or eat
less every day. Another Walford phrase is "undernutrition without
malnutrition." The author wisely states that this is one reason
that choosing nutritious foods and taking vitamin supplements are
essential, but his recommendations go far beyond recreating
equivalencies for the Five Food Groups. For example, Dr Walford
daily supplements his diet with 1,600 mg of Vitamin C (over 2000%
of the RDA) and a very substantial 600 IU of Vitamin E (over 3000 %
of the RDA). With modest understatement, he explains "We shall not
get far unless we are bold enough to part company with the Food and
Drug Administration, the nutrition moguls of the National Academy of
Sciences, and many experts occupying academic chaise lounges, because
we must in some instances considerably exceed a sacred quantity,
the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)."

This is an especially keen declaration, since Walford is himself
a member of the National Academy of Sciences. I do like this
man's style.

Furthermore, if normal life expectancies are to be believed, my
life is already more than half over. This whole topic becomes ever
more vital as our years click by. "The 90-year-old man of the
future will have the physical vigor of the 50-year-old man of today,"
says Walford. He has my full attention now, for most of us are
generally going in the wrong direction: we systematically over-
eat. Obesity is an epidemic, and population-wide weight statistics
bear this out unmistakably. In the USA, at least half of us are
overfat.

But on the other hand, hasn't modern medical science extended our
lives? Well, yes and no. Our average life expectancy has increased,
but maximum life span has not. There have always been a small
number of people living to 110 or so, and it is largely unchanged
today. Honest documentation of old age has been historically hard
to come by. The confirmed leader in modern times appears to be
Fanny Thomas (no relation to Danny, a short-lived smoker). Fanny is
certified to have lived to be 113, "attributing her longevity to
the fact that she ate applesauce three times a day and never
married."

Interestingly, Walford torpedoes a common myth: "It's probably not
true that women age more slowly than men, because there's no
difference in maximum life span between the sexes." Where
lifestyles are equal, men live as long as women. So you can do what
Fanny did. And maybe even if you are a man ... and married, perhaps...
and have only a moderate passion for applesauce.

Dr Walford provides dozens of references to back up his statements.
Maximum Life Span is appropriately illustrated, very well organized
and indexed, and is complete with food tables and the doctor's own
recipes and diet plans. I also like the map of downtown Washington,
D.C., showing the locations of no fewer than 64 food lobbyist's
offices... all within a few blocks of the White House.

But mostly I like Dr. Walford's utterly unapologetic attitude that
death is to be beaten back for a good solid 120 years (that's about
40 years longer than most people expect to live, Dr Jack Kevorkian
notwithstanding). I also like Dr Walford's expressed appreciation
for Nobel prize winners Linus Pauling and Roger J. Williams, both
of whom publicly advocated vitamin supplementation for decades,
and both of whom, perhaps not so coincidentally, lived into their
middle 90's.

I am pleased that Dr. Walford openly proclaims that he takes
megadoses of supplemental nutrients. Every medical doctor making
such an admission helps patients the world over. But the real key
to Dr. Walford's plan is what you don't do: eat. Aye, there's the
rub, for how many people would just as soon eat now and die young
than sacrifice the joys of pigging out for a mere 40 extra years
of existence?

DoctorYourself Recommended WEBSITE OF THE MONTH:
You are going to love Habib's 500 Natural Hygeine links all gathered
together for you at www.rawfoods.com/ It's enough to make you want
to make a road trip to the nearest salad bar!

Newsletter Ideas?
To submit a question or suggest a topic for the newsletter, email
me at doctoryourself.com/contact.html

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way offered as
prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness,
infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or
alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's
acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons
needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult
your doctor before making any health decision.

Privacy Statement:
We do not sell, and we do not share, our mailing list or your email
address with anyone. You may notice that there is no advertising at
http://doctoryourself.com and no advertising in this newsletter.
We also do not sell vitamins or other health products, except for
Dr. Saul's books, which help fund these free public services.

Got Ideas?
To submit a question or suggest a topic for the newsletter, email me at
doctoryourself.com/contact.html

Did You Want a Back Issue of this newsletter? All are available free
of charge at
http://www.doctoryourself.com/backissues.html

Copyright c 2001 and prior years Andrew W. Saul Permission to reproduce
single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL
USE ONLY is hereby granted providing no alteration of content is made
and authorship credit is given.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

Neither the author nor the webmaster has authorized the use of their names or the use of any material contained within in connection with the sale, promotion or advertising of any product or apparatus. Single-copy reproduction for individual, non-commercial use is permitted providing no alterations of content are made, and credit is given.